System and method for automatically generating vehicle guidance waypoints and waylines

ABSTRACT

A guidance system for a mobile machine includes a location determining device for determining a location of the machine, a user interface and a controller. The controller is configured to receive location information from the location determining device, detect a path followed by the machine using the location information and, as the machine travels the path, receive waypoint information from a user via the user interface indicating a plurality of initial waypoints associated with the path. The controller is further configured to present the initial waypoints to the user, receive selected waypoint information from the user via the user interface indicating one or more of the initial waypoints as selected waypoints, and automatically guide the machine using the one or more selected waypoints.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §120 as a continuationof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/541,989 filed Nov. 14, 2014, nowU.S. Pat. No. 9,303,998. The full disclosure, in its entirety, of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/541,989 is hereby incorporated byreference.

FIELD

Embodiments of the present invention relate to automated vehicleguidance. More specifically, embodiments of the invention relate to theuse of waypoints and waylines in automated vehicle guidance.

BACKGROUND

Mobile machinery, such as agricultural and construction machinery,commonly use automated guidance systems to assist users in operating themachines. In particular, automated guidance systems may be used to steermachines in order to, for example, steer the machines along a precisepath. In the field of agriculture, automated guidance systems arecommonly installed on tractors, self-propelled applicators andharvesters, for example, to automatically steer these machines whileworking or harvesting a field. Automated steering allows the machineoperator to monitor and respond to other aspects of machine status andperformance. Automated guidance is especially important when machinesare working large and/or unusually-shaped fields, where guidance systemscan maximize efficiency by selecting a travel course or pattern thatminimizes time in the field. This reduces the cost of fuel and theamount of time an operator spends in the machine.

When operating a machine equipped with an automated guidance system, theoperator typically defines the working area. This may be done bymanually guiding the machine around the working area thereby enablingthe guidance system to define a boundary of the area. The operator maythen employ the automated guidance system to steer the machine alongconsecutive paths within the boundary to work the working area.

The above section provides background information related to the presentdisclosure which is not necessarily prior art.

SUMMARY

A guidance system constructed in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention comprises a location determining device fordetermining a location of the machine, a user interface and acontroller. The controller is configured to receive location informationfrom the location determining device, detect a path followed by themachine using the location information and, as the machine travels thepath, receive waypoint information from a user via the user interfaceindicating a plurality of initial waypoints associated with the path.The controller is further configured to present the initial waypoints tothe user, receive selected waypoint information from the user via theuser interface indicating one or more of the initial waypoints asselected waypoints, and automatically guide the machine using the one ormore selected waypoints.

A guidance system constructed in accordance with another embodiment ofthe invention comprises a location determining device for determining alocation of the machine, a user interface and a controller. Thecontroller is configured to receive location information from thelocation determining device, detect a path followed by the machine usingthe location information and, as the machine travels the path, receivewaypoint information from a user via the user interface indicating aplurality of waypoints on the path. The controller is further configuredto present the waypoint information to the user indicating the pluralityof waypoints, receive selected waypoint information from the user viathe user interface indicating one or more of the waypoints as selectedwaypoints, generate a wayline using the one or more selected waypointsand automatically guide the machine using the wayline.

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described in the detailed descriptionbelow. This summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Other aspectsand advantages of the present invention will be apparent from thefollowing detailed description of the embodiments and the accompanyingdrawing figures.

DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below withreference to the attached drawing figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary tractor and implement whichmay be equipped with an automated guidance system incorporatingprinciples of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of certain components of an automated guidancesystem incorporating principles of the present invention.

FIGS. 3-11 are exemplary screenshots generated by a user interface ofthe guidance system of FIG. 2, illustrating the progress of the tractoralong a path and suggested waypoints placed on the path by the guidancesystem.

FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary wayline corresponding to two of thewaypoints of the path of FIGS. 3-11.

FIG. 13 illustrates another exemplary wayline corresponding to two ofthe waypoints of the path of FIGS. 3-11.

FIG. 14 is an exemplary screenshot similar to those of FIGS. 3-11,illustrating the path with a plurality of waypoints placed according toanother placement scheme.

FIG. 15 is an exemplary screenshot similar to those of FIGS. 3-11,illustrating surface elevation values placed along the path.

FIG. 16 is an exemplary screenshot similar to the screenshot of FIG. 11,illustrating a plurality of suggested waypoints placed on the path bythe guidance system including a pair of waypoints labeled “H”corresponding to high elevation points and a pair of waypoints labeled“L” corresponding to low elevation points.

FIG. 17 is an exemplary screenshot similar to the screenshot of FIG. 11illustrating a plurality of exemplary waypoints placed by the operatoras the machine travelled the path.

FIG. 18 is an exemplary screenshot similar to the screenshot of FIG. 11illustrating a wayline corresponding to two of the waypoints placedalong the path and a waypoint placed on the wayline.

FIG. 19 illustrates the screenshot of FIG. 18 including a portion of thefield worked by a machine.

FIG. 20 illustrates the screenshot of FIG. 19 including an additionalwayline corresponding to a waypoint on the path and a waypoint on thewayline.

FIG. 21 is an exemplary screenshot similar to the screenshot of FIG. 11including a wayline defined by one of the waypoints and a firstdirection.

FIG. 22 illustrates the screenshot of FIG. 21, including the waylinerotated about the waypoint to a second direction.

FIG. 23 illustrates the screenshot of FIG. 21, including the waylinerotated about the waypoint to a third direction.

FIG. 24 illustrates the screenshot of FIG. 23, including the waylineshifted relative to the original position.

The drawing figures do not limit the present invention to the specificembodiments disclosed and described herein. The drawings are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearlyillustrating the principles of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description of embodiments of the inventionreferences the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are intended todescribe aspects of the invention in sufficient detail to enable thoseskilled in the art to practice the invention. Other embodiments can beutilized and changes can be made without departing from the scope of theclaims. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to betaken in a limiting sense. The scope of the present invention is definedonly by the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents towhich such claims are entitled.

In this description, references to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, or“embodiments” mean that the feature or features being referred to areincluded in at least one embodiment of the technology. Separatereferences to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, or “embodiments” inthis description do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment and arealso not mutually exclusive unless so stated and/or except as will bereadily apparent to those skilled in the art from the description. Forexample, a feature, structure, act, etcetera described in one embodimentmay also be included in other embodiments, but is not necessarilyincluded. Thus, the present technology can include a variety ofcombinations and/or integrations of the embodiments described herein.

Turning now to the drawing figures, an exemplary tractor 10 equippedwith an automated guidance system incorporating principles of thepresent invention is illustrated in FIG. 1. The automated guidancesystem may be used to guide the tractor 10 as the tractor pulls orcarries an implement 12 while working a field. While specific referenceis made herein to the tractor 10 for purposes of illustration, guidancesystems employing principles of the present invention may be used withother machines including, for example, other agricultural machines suchas combine harvesters as well as machines used in the other industries,including the construction industry.

In some embodiments of the invention, the automated guidance system isoperable to automatically generate suggested waypoints as the tractor 10travels a path associated with a field or other area to be worked by thetractor. The automated guidance system may generate a plurality ofsuggested waypoints exceeding the number of waypoints needed forautomated guidance such that the user may manually select a subset ofthe waypoints for use in automated guidance. In other embodiments of theinvention, the automated guidance system is operable to place waypointson the path as indicated by an operator. The suggested waypoints arepoints or locations on the path that may be used by the automatedguidance system as points of reference as the tractor works or travelsthe field, as explained below in greater detail.

Certain components of an exemplary automated guidance system 14 areillustrated in FIG. 2. The system 14 broadly includes a controller 16, aposition determining device 18, a user interface 20, one or more sensors22, one or more actuators 24, one or more memory/storage components 26,and one or more input/out ports 28. The position determining device 18may be a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver, such as adevice configured to receive signals from one or more positioningsystems, such as the United States' global positioning system (GPS)and/or the Russian GLONASS system, and to determine a location using thereceived signals. The user interface 20 includes components forreceiving instructions or other input from a user and may includebuttons, switches, dials, and microphones, as well as components forpresenting information or data to users, such as displays,light-emitting diodes, audio speakers and so forth. The user interface20 may include a touchscreen display capable of presenting visualrepresentations of information or data and receiving instructions orinput from the user via a single display surface.

The sensors 22 may be associated with any of various components orfunctions of the tractor 10 including, for example, various elements ofthe engine, transmission(s), and hydraulic and electrical systems. Theactuators 24 are configured and placed to drive certain functions of thetractor 10 including, for example, steering when an automated steeringfunction is engaged. The actuators 24 may take virtually any form butare generally configured to receive control signals or instructions fromthe controller 16 (or other component of the system 14) and to generatea mechanical movement or action in response to the control signals orinstructions. By way of example, the sensors 22 and actuators 24 may beused in automated steering of the tractor 10 wherein the sensors 22detect a current position of steered wheels and the actuators 24 drivesteering movement of the wheels.

The controller 16 includes one or more integrated circuits programmed orconfigured to implement the functions described herein. By way ofexample the controller 16 may be a digital controller and may includeone or more general purpose microprocessors or microcontrollers,programmable logic devices, or application specific integrated circuits.The controller 16 may include multiple computing components placed invarious different locations. The controller 16 may also include one ormore discrete and/or analog circuit components operating in conjunctionwith the one or more integrated circuits or computing components.Furthermore, the controller 16 may include or have access to one or morememory elements operable to store executable instructions, data, orboth. Thus, the memory/storage device may be built into the same deviceas the controller or may be external.

It will be appreciated that, for simplicity, certain elements andcomponents of the system 14 have been omitted from the presentdiscussion and from the drawing of FIG. 2. A power source or powerconnector is also associated with the automated guidance system 14, forexample, but is conventional in nature and, therefore, is not discussedherein. In one embodiment, all of the components of the automatedguidance system 14 are contained on or in the tractor 10. The presentinvention is not so limited, however, and in other embodiments one ormore of the components of the system 14 may be external to the tractor10. In another embodiment, for example, some of the components of thesystem 14 are contained on or in the tractor 10 while other componentsof the system are contained on or in the implement 12. In thisembodiment, the components associated with the tractor 10 and thecomponents associated with the implement 12 may communicate via wired orwireless communications according to a local area network such as, forexample, a controller area network. The system 14 may be part of acommunications and control system conforming to the ISO 11783 (alsoreferred to as “ISOBUS”) standard. In yet another exemplary embodiment,one or more components of the system 14 may be located remotely from thetractor 10 and the implement 12. In this embodiment, the system 14 mayinclude wireless communications components for enabling the tractor 10to communicate with a remote computer, computer network or system.

The system 14 is configured to assist a machine operator by helpingidentify and place waypoints and waylines used as references by thesystem 14 during automated guidance of the tractor 10. The controller 16may automatically generate the waypoints according to features of thetravelled path, according to geographic features of the land associatedwith the path, according to historic practices, and/or according toother factors. The controller 16 may automatically generated thewaypoints to correspond to features of the travelled path, such as turnsin the path or predetermined intermediate points on path segments. Asused herein, an intermediate point on a path segment is a point orlocation between endpoints of the path segment, wherein the endpoints ofthe segment may be determined by turns in the path. A predeterminedintermediate point on a path segment may be a particular percentage ofthe distance from a starting point to an ending point of the pathsegment, such as 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60% and so forth.

In a first implementation, the system 14 automatically generateswaypoints associated with path segment endpoints or path corners as thetractor 10 travels along a generally circuitous path defining a workarea. FIGS. 3-11 illustrate an exemplary scenario where thisimplementation may be used. An operator plans to begin working a field30 by travelling an intended path 32 around the field 30 to therebydefine a working area within the path 32 or otherwise associated withthe path 32. Initially there may be no visual indicators of the intendedpath 32 and, in fact, the path 32 may be arbitrarily created as theoperator travels along edges of the field 30 adjacent roads 34, aroundobstacles, and so forth.

The graphical depictions of the field 30 and guidance elements (e.g.,waypoints and waylines) illustrated in FIGS. 3-11 (and other figures)may be part of an exemplary graphical display presented to an operatorof the tractor 10 via the user interface 20, such as via a touchscreen.Thus, the graphic display may present a map or depiction of the field 30as well as additional geographic or cartographic features of thesurrounding area, including roads, streams and ponds. The intended path32 is depicted in these drawings for illustration only and wouldtypically not be presented to the operator via the user interface 20. Asexplained above, the path 32 may be arbitrarily created by the operator.

The operator may begin travelling the intended path 32 at a firstlocation 36 illustrated in FIG. 3. That location 36 may be near anentrance to the field. As the tractor 10 travels the intended path 32from left to right in FIG. 3 the system 14 tracks the tractor's positionand progress, records the path 38 followed by the tractor, and presentsa depiction of the path 38 as a solid line. When the tractor 10 makes afirst turn corresponding to corner 40, the system 14 detects the turnand associates a first waypoint, waypoint A, with the corner 40 definedby the turn, as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5.

The tractor 10 proceeds along a second path segment 42 from waypoint Atoward the bottom of FIGS. 4 and 5. The system 14 uses positioninformation from the position determining device 18 to monitor thetractor's position and heading. When the tractor 10 reaches the end ofthe segment 42 and turns, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the system 14detects a change in the tractor's heading, identifies a turn, and placesa second waypoint—waypoint B—at the intersection of the two segments 42,44, as illustrated in FIG. 7. The tractor 10 proceeds along the thirdsegment 44 until the operator makes another turn at corner 46, asillustrated in FIG. 8, wherein the controller 16 detects the turn andplaces a third waypoint—waypoint C—at the location of the turn 46, asillustrated in FIG. 9. A fourth waypoint, waypoint D, is placedaccording to the same procedure, as illustrated in FIG. 10.

As the tractor 10 travels the intended path 32, the system 14 continuesautomatically placing waypoints at the various turns or corners of thepath 32 until the tractor 10 completes the path. FIG. 11 illustrates thepath nearly complete with waypoints A through Q placed on the path. Invarious embodiments of the invention, the system 14 places the waypointson the path automatically. Thus, as the operator drives the tractor 10along the path he or she does not need to interact with the userinterface 20 or otherwise take any steps to create the waypoints Athrough Q. This allows the operator to focus on other aspects of machineoperation, including steering, while the system 14 places the waypoints.When the operator completes the path 38 he or she may review thesuggested waypoints and select a wayline based on one or more of thesuggested waypoints.

The system 14 may identify corners or turns in the path 38 as turnscorresponding to a radius of curvature that is less than a predeterminedturn radius, such as fifty feet, seventy-five feet or one hundred feet.Arcuate portions of the path 38 with larger radii of curvature may beconsidered a curved path segment.

The system 14 presents the waypoints A through Q to the operator assuggested waypoints. In the illustrated embodiment, the system 14presents a graphical depiction of the field 30, the path 38 travelled bythe tractor, and the plurality of suggested waypoints A-Q via a displayassociated with the user interface 20. The intended path 32 is depictedin the drawings for illustration only and will typically not bepresented to the operator via the user interface 20, as explained above.The system 14 then receives waypoint information from the user via theuser interface 20, wherein the waypoint information includes waypointsselected by the user for automatic guidance. By way of example, the usermay submit waypoint information by physically touching a touchscreen atlocations corresponding to the waypoints the user desires to select.Input devices other than touchscreens may be used.

With reference to FIG. 12, if the user selects suggested waypoints A andI for automatic guidance, the system 14 may respond by generating awayline 48 connecting waypoints A and I. The wayline 48 may then be usedby the system 14 for automatic guidance of the tractor 10 as it worksthe field 30. Because the system 14 generates multiple suggestedwaypoints, the operator may select any of the waypoints to use forautomatic guidance. Rather than selecting waypoints A and I forautomatic guidance, for example, the operator may select waypoints D andQ, as illustrated in FIG. 13, wherein the system 14 may generate awayline 50 corresponding to those waypoints.

In the implementation illustrated in FIGS. 3-11 the system 14automatically places the suggested waypoints at corners or turns of thepath 38 travelled by the tractor 10. The invention is not so limited andthe system 14 may place suggested waypoints according to other featuresof the travelled path 38. In another exemplary implementation, thesystem 14 automatically places the suggested waypoints at intermediatepoints along the path segments rather than at corners or segmentendpoints. The system 14 may place the waypoints at segment midpoints,for example, as illustrated in FIG. 14. The system 14 may place thesuggested waypoints at any intermediate point of the various pathsegments, wherein the intermediate point may corresponding to apercentage of the distance from a first end of each segment to another,as explained above.

In other situations it may be desirable to place the suggested waypointsaccording to path features unrelated to path segments. A substantiallyarcuate outer boundary of a field, for example, may not have segmentseasily defined by corners or endpoints. In such a situation the system14 may place the suggested waypoints at locations associated with, forexample, a total distance travelled by the tractor 10, wherein thesystem 14 automatically places waypoints along the path at predeterminedtotal travel distance intervals, such as one hundred yards or twohundred yards, or fractions of the total distance of the travelled pathcalculated once the path is completed by the tractor 10. Alternatively,the system 14 may place the suggested waypoints according to theorientation of the tractor 10 relative to a cardinal direction, such asnorth. These are but a few examples.

In other embodiments of the invention, the system 14 places thesuggested waypoints according to schemes unrelated to features orcharacteristics of the path itself. By way of example, such schemes mayrelate to geographic features of the land surrounding and/or associatedwith the path, historic practices or trends, or other factors.

An exemplary geographic feature of the land that may be used by thesystem to place suggested waypoints is surface elevation. It may bedesirable, for example, to set the automatic guidance features of theinvention to guide the tractor 10 to work the field 30 according to aninclination of the field surface, which may be estimated using thesurface elevation of the field 30. With reference to FIG. 15, as thetractor 10 travels the path 38 the system 14 collects elevation data,associates elevation data with each location of the tractor 10, andstores the elevation data.

If the tractor 10 begins travelling the path 38 at location 50, forexample, the system 14 may assign an initial elevation value of “0” tothat location regardless of the actual surface elevation—thus, theelevation value may be a relative value unrelated to actual elevation.As the tractor 10 travels along the path 38 from the location 50 towardthe corner 40 in FIG. 15, the surface elevation of the field 30increases and the system 14 assigns an elevation value of “1” and then“2” as the tractor 10 approaches the corner 40. At the corner 40 theelevation has increased to “3.” Each of the elevation values maycorrespond to a difference in elevation between a current location andthe location 50 and may be expressed as a number of feet or number ofmeters. As the tractor 10 continues travelling the path 38 the system 14assigns elevation values to points along the path, detecting changes inelevation and assigning elevation values accordingly.

It can be seen from FIG. 15 that the highest points of elevation alongthe path correspond approximately to locations 52 and 54, which wereeach assigned a value of five. Similarly, it can be seen that the lowestpoints of elevation correspond to those with values of −1 and −2. Thesystem 14 may automatically generate a pair of suggested waypointscorresponding to locations 52 and 54, and label those waypoints with an“H” to indicate to the operator that those waypoints correspond to thehighest points of elevation of the path 38. The system may alsoautomatically generate a pair of suggested waypoints corresponding tolocations 56 and 58, and label those waypoints “L” to indicate to theoperator that those waypoints correspond to the lowest points ofelevation of the path. The waypoints labeled “H” and “L” may bepresented to the operator along with other waypoints, as illustrated inFIG. 16.

The operator may select the waypoints labeled “H” for a wayline thatcorresponds to the highest elevation of the field, or may select thewaypoints labeled “L” for a wayline that connects the lowest points ofthe field on opposite sides of a ridge. Assuming that a straight lineintersecting locations 52 and 54 represents a ridge in the field, awayline intersecting those two locations would allow the tractor to workthe field along lines that are parallel with the ridge. Similarly, awayline intersecting locations 56 and 58 would allow the tractor 10 towork the field 30 along lines that are perpendicular to the ridge. Theoperator's preference for one of the two waylines (or an entirelydifferent wayline) may depend on the operation being performed and thetype of machine used to perform the operation. In the two aboveexamples, the operator intends to work the field along paths that areparallel with or perpendicular to a direction of changing elevation of asurface of the field 30. The operator may desire to use the elevationinformation in other ways when selecting waypoints.

In another embodiment of the invention, the operator manually placeswaypoints as the tractor 10 travels along the path 38. The operator maymanually drive the path 38 and indicate positions of various waypointsalong the path via the user interface 20 by, for example, pressing abutton, engaging a touchscreen or making an audible sound detected by amicrophone. An exemplary scenario of this embodiment is illustratedgraphically in FIG. 17, wherein the operator selected waypoints Athrough E while travelling along the path 38. Using this embodiment ofthe invention, the user may identify a plurality of initial waypointswhile travelling the path 38 and select one or more of the initialwaypoints for use in automated guidance. A user may select, for example,any two of the initial waypoints A-E to define a wayline.

With reference now to FIG. 18, once a wayline 60 is created according toany of the methods discussed herein, a waypoint may be placed on thewayline 60 either automatically by the system 14 or manually by theoperator. Waypoint R, for example, may be placed automatically by thesystem 14 at any time after the wayline 60 is created, or may be placedmanually by the operator. The system 14 may automatically place waypointR at the midpoint of the wayline 60 (or any other intermediate point ofthe wayline) and then adjust a location of the waypoint in response touser input received via the user interface 20. Alternatively, theoperator may manually place the waypoint by indicating a location on thewayline 60 via the user interface 20, or by indicating a location of thetractor 10 as the waypoint as the tractor 10 travels the wayline 60.

The operator may use the waypoint R to generate a second wayline. Theoperator may choose to work a first portion 62 of the field using onlythe first wayline 60, as illustrated in FIG. 19, then create a secondwayline 64 corresponding to waypoints R and D to work a second portionof the field 66, as illustrated in FIG. 20.

The operator may select two waypoints to define a wayline, as explainedabove, or may select a single waypoint to define a wayline. In thelatter scenario, the operator may select a single waypoint and thenselect an angle or orientation of a wayline intersecting the waypoint.With reference to FIG. 21, if the operator selects suggested waypoint K,the system 14 may generate a wayline 68 that intersects waypoint K andthen present a graphical representation of the wayline 68 via the userinterface 20. The generated wayline 68 may simply be parallel with oneof the cardinal directions, such as north. The operator may then adjustan angle of the wayline 68 via the user interface 20. The wayline 68 isillustrated rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 22 and clockwise in FIG.23. By way of example, the operator may adjust the wayline 68 bypressing a tactile or virtual button, rolling a dial, or “dragging” thewayline on a touchscreen by touching the screen and moving a fingeracross the touchscreen.

Regardless of whether the operator selects two waypoints to define thewayline or a single waypoint, the operator may adjust the angle of thewayline. Similarly, in ether scenario the operator may adjust a positionof the wayline by moving the wayline side to side or up and down withoutrotating the wayline. As illustrated in FIG. 24, a wayline thatinitially intersected waypoint K may be moved to the left. Thus, byrotating and moving a wayline left, right, up and down the operator mayreposition the wayline to any position in the field. Furthermore, aprimary wayline, secondary wayline or both may be so adjusted.

In other embodiments of the invention, the system 14 may receive orretrieve data defining a boundary of the field or area to be worked,thereby relieving the operator of the need to travel a path defining anarea to be worked before working the area. This may be desirable wherethe operator wishes to work the perimeter of the field last, such as intillage operators that render the surface rough and the operator wishesto work the headland last so that the headland surface is smooth duringheadland maneuvering. Rather than driving the path 38, for example, theoperator may direct the system 14 to retrieve data defining the path 38.Once the path 38 is defined by the system 14, waypoints and waylines maybe suggested, selected and/or adjusted substantially as explained above.As used herein, the system 14 is configured to receive boundaryinformation if the system 14 is configured to retrieve the boundaryinformation from a memory or storage device, if the system 14 isconfigured to receive the information from one of the input/output port,or if the system 14 is configured to receive the boundary informationfrom another computing device via a network.

Although the invention has been described with reference to thepreferred embodiment illustrated in the attached drawing figures, it isnoted that equivalents may be employed and substitutions made hereinwithout departing from the scope of the invention as recited in theclaims. While the waypoints are illustrated on the path 38, for example,it will be appreciated that the waypoints may be placed proximate oradjacent to the path 38. Such a configuration is within the ambit of thepresent invention.

Having thus described the preferred embodiment of the invention, what isclaimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent includesthe following:

1. A guidance system for a mobile machine, the system comprising: alocation determining device for determining a location of the machine; auser interface; and a controller configured to— receive locationinformation from the location determining device, detect a path followedby the machine using the location information, as the machine travelsthe path, receive waypoint information from a user via the userinterface indicating a plurality of initial waypoints associated withthe path, present the initial waypoints to the user, receive selectedwaypoint information from the user via the user interface indicating oneor more of the initial waypoints as selected waypoints, andautomatically guide the machine using the one or more selectedwaypoints.
 2. The guidance system as set forth in claim 1, thecontroller configured to generate a visual representation of the path onthe user interface as the machine travels the path.
 3. The guidancesystem as set forth in claim 2, the controller configured to present theinitial waypoints to the user as points on the visual representation ofthe path.
 4. The guidance system as set forth in claim 2, the userinterface including a touchscreen and configured to receive the waypointinformation from the user as a touch detectable by the touchscreen. 5.The guidance system as set forth in claim 1, the controller furtherconfigured to adjust the initial waypoints in response to userinstructions received via the user interface by adjusting the positionsof the initial waypoints.
 6. The guidance system as set forth in claim5, the controller further configured to adjust the positions of theinitial waypoints in response to the user instructions prior toreceiving the selected waypoint information.
 7. The guidance system asset forth in claim 1, the controller further configured to allow theuser to adjust a selected waypoint by changing a location of thewaypoint.
 8. The guidance system as set forth in claim 1, the controllerconfigured to automatically guide the machine according to the one ormore selected waypoints by generating a wayline corresponding to atleast one selected waypoint and guiding the machine along paths that areparallel with the wayline.
 9. The guidance system as set forth in claim8, the controller configured to adjust a position of the wayline inresponse to user instructions received via the user interface.
 10. Theguidance system as set forth in claim 9, the controller configured toadjust the position of the wayline by rotating the wayline about a pointon the wayline.
 11. The guidance system as set forth in claim 8, thecontroller further configured to— receive additional waypointinformation from the user as the machine travels the wayline, theadditional waypoint information indicating the position of a secondarywaypoint associated with the wayline, generate a second wayline usingthe secondary waypoint, and automatically guide the machine using thesecondary waypoint.
 12. The guidance system as set forth in claim 11,the controller further configured to automatically guide the machineusing the secondary waypoint by generating a second waylinecorresponding to the secondary waypoint.
 13. The guidance system as setforth in claim 12, the controller further configured to adjust thesecond wayline in response to user instructions received via the userinterface.
 14. The guidance system as set forth in claim 1, each of theinitial waypoints corresponding to a location of the machine on the pathat the time the waypoint information was received from the user.
 15. Aguidance system for a mobile machine, the system comprising: a locationdetermining device for determining a location of the machine; a userinterface; and a controller configured to— receive location informationfrom the location determining device, detect a path followed by themachine using the location information, as the machine travels the path,receive waypoint information from a user via the user interfaceindicating a plurality of waypoints on the path, present the waypointinformation to the user indicating the plurality of waypoints, receiveselected waypoint information from the user via the user interfaceindicating one or more of the waypoints as selected waypoints, generatea wayline using the one or more selected waypoints, and automaticallyguide the machine using the wayline.
 16. The guidance system as setforth in claim 15, the controller configured to— generate a suggestedwayline using the one or more selected waypoints such that the waylineintersects the one or more selected waypoints, allow the user to adjustthe suggested wayline, and automatically guide the machine using theadjusted wayline.
 17. The guidance system as set forth in claim 15, thecontroller configured to adjust the suggested wayline in response touser instructions received via the user interface by selecting one ofthe waypoints as a point of intersection of the wayline.
 18. Theguidance system as set forth in claim 15, the controller configured toallow the user to adjust the suggested wayline by adjusting an angle ofthe wayline.
 19. The guidance system as set forth in claim 15, thecontroller configured to— generate a suggested wayline using the one ormore selected waypoints such that the wayline intersects one waypointand is parallel with a predetermined direction, allow the user to adjustthe suggested wayline, and automatically guide the machine using theadjusted wayline.